Israelis Mark Holiday When Hamas Attacked as IDF Implicates More Al Jazeera Journalists

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israelis and Jews worldwide on Thursday are celebrating the Feast of Simcha Torah or the joy of the Torah. It's the same holiday Israel was celebrating last year on October 7th when Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

More than one year later, Israel is making significant strides to defeat Hamas, a fact noted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"Since October 7th a year ago, Israel has achieved most of its strategic objectives when it comes to Gaza, all with the idea of making sure that October 7th could never happen again. In the space of a year, it's managed to dismantle Hamas's military capacity, It’s destroyed much of its arsenal, It's eliminated its senior leadership, including, most recently, Yahya Sinwar," Blinken noted.

The Israel Defense Forces claims hundreds of Hamas terrorists have surrendered in recent days.

The military also released information that searches in Gaza have uncovered documents showing that six more Al Jazeera journalists are affiliated with terror groups, four with Hamas and two with Islamic Jihad.

The journalists listed are Anas Jamal Mahmoud Al-Sharif, Alaa Abdul Aziz Muhammad Salama, Hossam Basel Abdul Karim Shabat, Ashraf Sami Ashour Saraj, Ismail Farid Muhammad Abu Omar, and Talal Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Aruki.

In a statement, the IDF claimed, "These documents serve as proof of the integration of Hamas terrorists within the Qatari Al Jazeera media network."

Al Jazeera called the IDF announcement "fabricated."

In northern Israel, Hezbollah fired more than 130 rockets into Israel as the IDF continued to pound Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon.

General Amir Avivi, head of the Israel Defense Security Forum, told CBN News Hezbollah is being defeated.  

“Their morale is very low. 'I'm scared,' (Hezbollah members say). Running away. You know, occasionally they put some resistance, but much, much lower than anything we expected. So overall, if you continue to attack systematically, there is a chance that we will see this organization (the IDF) militarily dismantle them," Avivi stated.

WATCH: Iran Threatens Israel Amid Hezbollah War 

The retired major-general believes this might be the time the Lebanese could reclaim their country.

“We are hoping that, in Lebanon, (the) Lebanese people and the different groups in Lebanon  the Sunnis – the question is, (Will) the Jews will seize the moment and really get rid of Hezbollah.”

Lebanese Member of Parliament Nadim Gemayel, a Christian, blames Hezbollah for Lebanon's woes. 

“They got themselves into this crisis, and they need to bear the responsibility. They should not think, not even for a second, to come to us and ask us to bear the responsibility. We will not solve the crisis for Hizbullah. In order to solve its crisis today, Hizbullah needs to hand over its weapons," Gemayel declared.

While Israel fights battles on its northern and southern borders, it's also preparing to attack Iran following the attack earlier this month when Tehran fired 181 ballistic missiles at Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed the pilots likely to take part in any attack on Iran.

He told them, “The Air Force is a key element in this matter and anyone who tries to harm us will be harmed. This is also true for Iran. We have a very high trust in your abilities.”

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